Do We…

Do we too quickly
Forget those we sudden lost?
Do we count our love
Easily replaced by one
Who comes new into our lives?
Do we pray Heaven
Has sweet mercy on everyone?
Days are short, life brief,
Have we given in and up
Because change is difficult?
Are we listening
To the cares others admit?
Are souls important,
Do we point them to matters
Concerning eternity?
Do we pray the end
Of war, fear, pain, loss, hunger?
Maybe we should act –
We could become bodies
Ministering toward LIFE!

It came to me that the Coronavirus crisis has some parallels to the devastation we felt after September 11th. Not so many were lost on 911, but we came together, forgetting all our divisions. Globally we need to do the same to recover and make the world better than it was before this disaster.

Tonight, I put on the music that came out to raise money for victims of 911. If you have some of those discs or MP3s loaded somewhere, maybe you could give them a listen.

Remember, if we all work together, there is almost nothing the people of the world are unable to accomplish.

Tiny Tidy Bits

Sadness – written in
Shades of shadow, black and gray,
No way to escape

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The music plays, songs
To lift weary hearts, giving
Hope enough to live.

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Profuse the lilies
Blooms coloring everything
With smiles, happiness.

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Borrow the chatter
Of the squirrels chasing round
A filled bird feeder,
You might find greater delight
Than sitting alone tonight.

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Someone left the doors –
Wide-open to delight my heart,
Love, smooth, sauntered in.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

These are my brand of haiku and tanka. I always have fun with counted syllables. Sometimes, the truth will take a chunk out of you when you work with these because being constrained seems to give the mind some ease with content.

Prompt: If you feel inclined, write some haiku and tanka of your own.

Gratitude:
My appointment on Monday went exceptionally well.
I am reading some great books.
I went to Aldi and got some food.
Having my little piece of real estate on the internet.
I keep trying even when I am discouraged.

If you enjoy the content you find here, please give feedback by likes, comments, follows. I appreciate each one more than you know.

Have an excellent downhill slide to the weekend. God bless and keep you always.

Haphazardly Alone

I felt this topic applicable and have not posted from my journal recently, so I shared this. While doing my Creativity Project on Chronicles, I entered a handwritten piece almost daily.

I have been having difficulty with handwriting for a while. I recently discovered my vision impacted that because, on a whim, I picked up a set of reading glasses. I wear contacts that are an adequate adjustment, but close work like writing demands a bit more.

Being a bit perfectionistic, I hate to bring anything not up to my standard here.

Prompt: Do something unusual in your creative practice; share it if you dare.

Gratitude:

One of my most challenging times of year ends within the next few days, Easter being the culmination of it, and I made it through without a major meltdown.
Back on track with handwriting.
I cooked from scratch the other night, and it was not all bad.
Having a dishwasher.
Running water.

Sometimes I wonder why I continue with this, but it is my practice. If I were not doing the Creativity Project, I would not work as hard to produce something viable every day. If you would like to follow the site, see the sidebar for three methods. Communication from you as a reader gives me some clue whether or not I am engaging you in a manner that pleases you.

I hope all of you who celebrate Easter have a blessed one. To those following other paths, may you find hope, joy, and peace in your daily realm.

Counsel

Be happy, wherever you are,
whatever you do today.
Reach for the joy,
let it invade.
Remember, you are loved,
no matter what your mind may say.
Time is too short
to waste on frowns.
Look at the sky,
see how wide and bright –
your future is expansive
and full of potential.
Please take my advice,
enjoy life while you are living,
and do not waste a moment.
Be kind, generous,
and love everyone
you can as a gift
and a friend.
The most love you gain,
as you more openly spend.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

The above was a paragraph shared on my wall, I decided it would make a good poem.

Prompt: Take something you create for one purpose and re-purpose it for another use.

Curve

I give up the chase –
You win your freedom of space,
My love has no place;
What you choose to leave, avoid,
I bury within my heart, void.
Never a beggar
I instead turn, walk away,
Take other highways
Leading wherever strangers
Are willing – friends to begin.
Laying out my heart
For you to trample beneath
Heavy stomping feet
Is not my ideal party
Treat, I must not stay, compete.
Say fond welcome to
These days you quickly bought
Without my presence;
Taste your fancy feast of joy
My leaving is your peace, foil.

Prompt: Tap into your emotional climate, create something that indicates where you have your home.